Affiliate Profile

Rhode Island Historical Society

The Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS) was established in 1822 and is among the oldest such organizations in the United States. The RIHS remembers, interprets, honors, and shares the state’s history so that present and future generations can understand more fully their predecessors, their communities, and their spirit of place. The RIHS encompasses the John Brown House Museum and Aldrich House (both National Historic Landmarks), and its impressive Robinson Research Center collection holds more than 500,000 objects and counting. The RIHS also operates the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, devoted to the history of immigrants who came to Rhode Island in search of a better life. The RIHS offers extensive educational programs for all ages, including the RHODI project, a comprehensive online directory of Rhode Island's history and heritage sector. The RIHS has sponsored the Smithsonian’s “The Way We Worked” exhibition, and will be lending artifacts from its collection to several Smithsonian museums for inclusion in exhibitions at the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.